TaBria M.

Donkor
ENG 206.03
21 March 2021

The movie I wrote a response to is The Parent Trap. This movie was told through the
eyes of Nancy Meyer, released in theaters July 29, 1998. After watching this film, I noticed that
there is good natural lighting throughout the film, the lighting in this film really illustrates the
cinematographers goal of wanting to make audiences feel delighted when watching this movie.
This is a great movie that gives viewers a sense of family and a connection to the people they
love.
Through the portrayal of Hallie and Annie, Lindsay Lohan stars in this movie as a pair of
twins who meet each other at camp and find out that they have the same parents. The girls decide
to switch places; Annie is going to California with their dad and Hallie is going to London with
the mom. Nick owns a vineyard and Elizabeth designs wedding gowns. Their plan is to reunite
their parents that have not seen one another in 11 years since they split, they each took one twin.
They think that their parents will automatically fall in love again. A halt comes of their plan to
reunite their parents when Nick (dad) introduces Annie to Meredith, his fiancee. Annie calls
Hallie, telling her that there is a “911” and that they have to get their parents together sooner.
They are successful in their endeavors to reunite their parents and sabotage Meredith into
leaving. Nick and Elizabeth wed once again and Annie and Hallie are reunited forever.

In this movie, every new setting begins with an establishing shot to show where the
following action is about to take place, for instance when Hallie arrives in England they show
Big Ben and other famous landmarks in London. And when Annie arrives in California, the
camera shows another aerial shot of the “Parker Knoll,” which is the fabulous estate that Hallie
and her father live in. I can tell that the cinematographer uses soft light throughout the film
because the lighting is diffused and even. When Nick asks “Hallie” what she thinks of him
marrying Meredith, a medium shot is used to show the connection between them, then it goes to
a close-up to show Annie’s upset reaction to the news. When Hallie breaks the news to her mom
that she is Annie and not Hallie, the cinematographer decides to use an eye-level angle with a
close-up shot to show the intimate, honest conversation between the two.

There are only a few night scenes or “dark lighting” in this movie and I think that this
decision has a huge impact on how it makes me feel happy and laugh throughout it. A harsh light
casts through the windows of the bedrooms to show that it’s from the sunlight, this is a hard light
because I can see the shadows on the mothers face and on the sofa. I enjoy this movie because of
the playfulness. The production designer also uses props such as a lamp to light the bathroom.
When Nick and Hallie walk through the vineyard, the cinematographer chooses to have sunlight
poke through the holes in the wine cellar. The lighting is well placed and expresses the time of
day accurately and impacts how the viewer feels while watching.